Kankuro walked into the house and was immediately met with the smell of exceptional food.
"I'm not quite done, Moushiwake arimasen deshita." Gaara said and bowed.
"Hey I know it's been a while but, there's no need to be formal Gaa-chan. What are you making?" Kankuro asked, his mouth watering.
"Tori no kara-age, Miso soup, Dango Jiru, Mushinasu and Watermelon Ice." Gaara answered.
"Sounds delicious! How much longer?" Kankuro asked.
"Fifteen or so minutes." Gaara answered. Kankuro sighed.
"It smells superb Gaa-chan!" Karura said, she turned to Kankuro, "Come look at our tree!" she said, pulling him into the family room.
"You decorated it without me?" Kankuro asked pretending to be hurt.
"We saved the star, Kan-chan." Karura said softly. Dad was usually the one to put up the star, for his mom to let him was a big thing. Kankuro smiled and hugged her, lifting her off the ground for a moment. She laughed.
"And with how tall you are, you won't even need to stand on a chair." That was true; Kankuro stood a good head taller than his father.
"Don't put it up until I get to watch!" Gaara called from the kitchen.
"All right! I'll put it up after dinner." Kankuro said. He was so glad to be home. He looked the tree over taking in all the colorful lights blinking and the ornaments. A few of them had been made by him, a few were Gaara's and way too many were Temari's. She had this phase where she would make ornaments almost non-stop. He smiled at the memory, she had made so many that year that there were only enough decorations for one more ornament and he and Gaara had to make theirs together as per tradition. Kankuro wondered where that embellishment was. He poked around for a few minutes before he found the thing. It was an averaged sized white trinket with red ribbon stitched across it. Kankuro had done the beading because his hands had always been deft. Gaara had come up with the design. It was the shape of a Christmas tree. He smiled as Gaara walked in.
"Dinner's ready. What are you looking at?" The redhead asked.
"Do you remember when Temari had her ornament fetish?" he asked.
He's thinking about Temari, Gaara thought and for some reason it disappointed him.
"Yeah, are you looking at one of her ornaments?" Gaara riposted.
"No, the one you and I made because there where only enough beads for one. Would you believe you guys put in the back?" Kankuro said and moved it to the front of the tree. Gaara's dark lids blinked.
"Well let's eat!" Kankuro clapped his hands as he walked past Gaara. The three of them sat at the table and placed their hands together.
"Itadakimasu." They said and started eating. Kankuro closed his eyes and moaned slightly, "This great Gaa-chan!" he added. Karura nodded, "It's wonderful!"
"Arigato." Gaara said feeling almost giddy from Kankuro's response to his food.
It was getting dark and Sunaga was cooling down rapidly as they finished.
"I lost all that weight and you're going to give it back, damn you." Kankuro said, but he was only teasing.
"Gomen, Kan-chan." Gaara said with a light smile. Kankuro got up and started picking up plates.
"Kan-chan you're here on break! Enjoy yourself! Put those dishes down!" Karura insisted. Gaara got up and took the plates from Kankuro.
"Gaa-chan you cooked! I am your mother! I have to do something!" Karura said and snatched the plates from the unsuspecting Gaara.
"You, go watch T.V. or something, okay?" Karura said and started cleaning. The boys were left with this "unk?" expression on their faces, but they left.
"Miss me?" the brunette asked.
"I guess." Gaara said in acquiesce, as he sat down.
"Ass." Kankuro said and grabbed the remote. He flipped through the channels.
"I remember that movie." Gaara remarked.
" 'The year without Santa Clause', do you want to watch it?" Kankuro asked.
"Sure." Gaara replied. Gaara shivered slightly. Kankuro observed this and pulled Gaara into a close embrace. Gaara snuggled deeper into Kankuro's warmth as the movie went on. His stomach fluttered slightly but Gaara ignored it, thinking it was just contentment over his brother's return.
"You could use the heat miser." Kankuro joked.
"I do use the heat miser." Gaara patted Kankuro's now flat stomach, affectionately. Kankuro snorted.
Karura walked in to the room and sat down, and then she recalled the star.
"Kan-chan, you need to put up the star! I'll get it!" she shouted. After that she pulled out the beautiful decoration.
"Here you go." She said and smiled, albeit sadly. Kankuro picked it up gently and slowly placed it on top of the tree. He stood back to make sure it was on correctly.
"I wish Temari were here too." Kankuro said after a long silence.
"Yeah." Gaara said.
"Well, I'm going to bed." Karura said, "You know where your room is." Kankuro nodded. Karura leaned up to kiss Kankuro goodnight, then Gaara. The boys finished watching the movie. Afterwards they went to bed.
Kankuro woke up at a lovely nine o'clock and got dressed, with his cat hood on he strode into the kitchen.
"Morning, Gaa-chan! How'd you sleep?" Kankuro asked as he grabbed a bowl and some cereal.
"Dame yo." Gaara mumbled, "Insomnia." He continued incoherently.
"Genki o dashite." Kankuro said and squeezed Gaara. "I'm going shopping for mom, you want to come?"
"Sure!" Gaara perked up.
"After breakfast." Kankuro glanced around for the milk. He frowned.
"Here. I was using it for my coffee." Gaara offered the milk to his older brother.
"Thanks." Kankuro ate quickly, grabbed his cell and put on his shoes.
"Ready?" Kankuro asked.
"Yeah." Gaara said putting on his own shoes. Gaara opened the door and they walked out.
"Damn! It is hot! It's so dry." Kankuro said after walking only a few steps. Gaara looked at him.
"You must have gotten use to the weather in Konoha." He stated. Kankuro just nodded.
"Any ideas?" Gaara asked.
"Not really, has she asked for anything?" Kankuro inquired.
"For you to be gay." Gaara said flatly. Kankuro grimaced and shook his head.
"Is that it?" Kankuro almost whined.
"Yeah." Gaara peeked into a souvenir shop.
"She lives here, why would she want a souvenir?" Kankuro asked skeptically.
"You know mom loves little trinkets, let's just look." Gaara responded and pulled the larger boy into the store.
"Ah, it's nice in here." Kankuro said and began browsing. After poking around for a bit the siblings realized their mother wouldn't like any of the things in the store.
"Bummer." Kankuro said. Gaara nodded as they plodded to the next store. They peeked into a clothing outlet, a shoe store, five more souvenir shops and a Victoria Secret, which Kankuro was chased out of for being a pervert.
"Let's get something to eat." Gaara said pulling Kankuro's hand. The older boy walked slowly behind.
"Where?" He asked.
"The outdoor ramen stand?" Gaara requested.
"All right." Kankuro said and they made their way to it.
"What do you want Gaa-chan? I'll get it." Kankuro told the redhead noticing the line and the promptly disappearing tables.
"Pork." Gaara said, he didn't care what soup. He left to find a table while Kankuro stood in line. He reached the front a lot faster than he thought he would.
"What would you like?" the cashier asked.
"Two orders of pork ramen," Kankuro noticed a small cookbook, "and one of those cookbooks." He hadn't gotten Gaara anything yet. He hoped Gaara didn't already have one.
"All right." The lady said and handed it to him. Kankuro fished out his wallet, paid her and stuck the small book and wallet back into his pocket. She printed out the receipt and Kankuro moved out of the way.
"Order 211 up." One of the cooks said. Kankuro checked his receipt: 212. He shifted a bit and continued waiting.
"Order 212 up." Kankuro quickly grabbed the food and thanked the man. He scanned the crowd for Gaara's red hair. A hand waved and Kankuro made his way to the table. He placed his food opposite of Gaara.
"Arigatou, Kan-chan."
"No problem." He replied.
"Itadakimasu!"
"Do you think we'll find anything?" Gaara asked as he ate noodles.
"I'm sure we'll find something. Has she commented on anything that needs replacing?" Kankuro asked. Gaara thought for a moment.
"She lost an earring awhile ago."
"Let's look at a jewelry store next then." The brunette suggested. Gaara nodded, he was in the middle of chewing. Kankuro slurped the ramen up as Gaara watched in amazement.
"How do you do that?" The redhead asked.
"Do what?" Kankuro asked pausing.
"Slurp the noodles, every time I try the noodles whack me in the face." Gaara scowled as if slurping noodles was a necessity.
"What?" he asked.
"Watch." Gaara said flatly and attempted to slurp the ramen. Sure enough they hit his nose, leaving the sticky sauce on his pale skin. Kankuro laughed hysterically as he tried to wipe it off his poor little brother. The redhead blinked at Kankuro's close proximity, and his cheeks glowed.
"I can get it!" he practically shouted.
"I got it already." His brother replied, "I didn't mean to laugh at you. You were prepared for it and you still made such a shocked face."
"Let's just go." Gaara said hurriedly. Kankuro noticed the red tinting Gaara's face.
"Gaa-chan, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Kankuro said as Gaara harshly picked up the now empty bowls.
"Gaara! I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" The older blathered; Gaara was making his way to a garbage can. His head was swimming as it pondered why he had such a reaction to Kankuro's touch. It wasn't humiliation, it kind of felt like last night. It was bubbly and fluttery and not altogether unpleasant. Kankuro was now behind him, he turned Gaara around.
"Hey, are you all right?" The taller one asked.
"Yeah. But let's go." Gaara said trying to dismiss those odd feelings. Kankuro smiled glad his brother was okay. Maybe Gaara was just cranky. He did have trouble sleeping, thus the dark rings around his eyes.
"Okay, lead the way." He said and they walked along the dusty sidewalk.
"So, you're not gay?" Gaara asked after the silence had grown uneasy.
"Nope."
"Bi?"
"No."
"Asexual?"
"No!"
"Denial?"
"What? No, I'm straight." Kankuro grumbled. Gaara tugged on his hood.
"You sure?" he asked suspiciously.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Gaara just smiled at the question. They arrived at a small jewelry department and walked inside. The duo skimmed through the expensive stuff, favoring something closer to their budget.
"Do you think mom would like these?" Gaara called. Kankuro made his way and loomed over Gaara, lightly breathing down his neck. Gaara shivered imperceptibly.
"I think so. We can get them if we pool our money." Kankuro answered as he straightened up.
Gaara nodded trying to fight back the heat rushing to his cheeks.
"Sumi masen, I'd like to purchase these." Kankuro said pulling out his wallet. He pulled out several bills and awaited Gaara's contribution.
"A fine choice, sirs." The clerk said in an aristocratic tone. He took the money and handed them the fancy earrings in a small box. The two dipped their heads to show thanks and left.
"You know, we never ate the Watermelon ice I made." Gaara admitted. Kankuro flashed a grin.
"Then let's hurry up."
No Naruto story is complete without ramen! I also can't slrup noodles without whacking myself in the face, it's so tragic.
Moushiwake arimasen deshita: A really polite way of saying sorry.
Tori no kara-age: Deep fried chicken nuggets
Miso soup: Tofu, wakame soup.
Dango Jiru: Dumplings with miso
Mushinasu: Steamed eggplant
Watermelon Ice: Watermelon juice, lemon juice, sugar mixed then frozen (I want some)
Gomen: Informal sorry
Dame yo: Bad
Genki o dashite: Cheer up
(Note, if you want more details on the food you'll have to look it up, I don't feel like writing out an entire recipe.)
♥Thank you all for reading. And thank you very much to those that are reviewing too!♥